1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery terminal to be installed on the electrode (battery post) of a battery mounted on an automobile or the like, and more particularly to the battery terminal to be fixed to the battery post not by a bolt and a nut to be tightened by a tightening tool but by a lever.
2. Description of the Related Arts
As shown in FIG. 6, a battery post projecting upward from the upper surface of a battery is inserted into an electrode-engaging portion 3a of a battery terminal 3. A bolt 4 is horizontally inserted into a bolt opening of a substrate 3b and that of a tightening plate 3c. A nut 6 is tightened horizontally on the bolt 4 with an impact wrench 5 disposed horizontally. Then, the electrode-engaging portion 3a is pressed against the battery post 2 to fix the battery terminal 3 to the battery post 2.
In recent years, parts are installed in the engine room of the automobile in a high density. For example, projections such as an air duct higher than the battery post 2 or electric wires are installed in the periphery of the battery 1. In tightening the nut 6 on the bolt 4 with the bolt 4 and the impact wrench 5 disposed horizontally, the following problems occur: The impact wrench 5 may contact other parts and thus it is difficult to tighten the nut 6 on the bolt 4 or it is impossible to tighten the nut 6 thereon if there is no space in which the impact wrench 5 is placed horizontally.
If the impact wrench 5 and other parts interfere with each other while the plus side of the battery post 2 is being tightened, a short circuit occurs when the impact wrench 5 interferes with the minus side thereof. A fire may occur in the automobile. Therefore, it is necessary to alter the configurations of other parts so as to prevent the interference between the impact wrench 5 and other parts.
In order to overcome the above-described problems, a battery terminal of lever type not using a bolt has been proposed. The battery terminal disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 4-14863 is described below with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B. A terminal main body 3' comprises two component parts, namely, annular first component parts 3'a having a semicircular electrode-engaging portion in one side thereof and second component parts 3'b having a circular arc portion in one side thereof. The battery terminal is assembled as follows: A shaft 7 installed on the second component parts 3'b is inserted into a long groove 3'a-1 of the first component parts 3'a; one end of each of a pair of links 8 and 8 is fixed to each end of the shaft 7; a connecting rod 9 is fixed to the other end of each link 8; and both ends of the connecting rod 9 are locked by a cover 10.
In the above-described battery terminal, the cover 10 is pivoted on the connecting rod 9 to allow the semicircular portion of the first component parts 3'a and the circular arc portion of the second component parts 3'b to be close to each other so that a battery post is sandwiched therebetween.
In the above-described battery terminal, the battery post is fixed not by using a bolt and nut to be tightened on the bolt by a tool, but by pressing the cover 10 downward. But the construction of the battery terminal is complicated in that it is necessary to use the link, the connecting rod, and a large number of component parts to compose the battery terminal. Thus, manufacturing cost of the battery terminal is high. Moreover, many processes are required to assemble the battery terminal from the component parts and thus it takes much time and labor to assemble the battery terminal.